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The smile on Yan Wusheng’s face grew more satisfied, more gratified.
“Congratulations, Shen Zhaoqing.” Yan Wusheng’s voice remained calm, even carrying a hint of amusement.
“You have finally awakened.”
These words stunned everyone present.
Gu Chang’an and her two companions whipped their heads around to stare at Yan Wusheng.
Yet Yan Wusheng seemed not to notice their murderous glares. She continued speaking, her voice clear in everyone’s ears:
“An uncarved jade, possessing quality but lacking form. Only through the burning of fire and the hammering of heavy blows can its stone shell be shed and its brilliance revealed.”
The curve of her lips deepened.
“The greed of the Yaoguang Saint Lord was the fire; their obsessions were the hammers. And you, Shen Zhaoqing, are the most perfect jade.”
“I have waited long, laid my plans long, all for this moment when you open your eyes.”
What did she mean?
“You seek death!” Ling Shuangjue hated nothing more than being used as a pawn.
A torrent of demonic qi surged skyward once more. Abi Yuan Tu Sword let out a bloodthirsty hum, and a bloody sword light capable of tearing space itself, carrying the might of world-ending destruction, came crashing down toward Yan Wusheng.
Yet, facing this killing blow, Yan Wusheng simply raised her right hand.
The void before her rippled like water, and an array disk composed of countless starlight points materialized silently.
“Starry Heavenly Derivations, Shield of Causality.”
The bloody sword light struck the array disk. It made no sound, as if falling into an empty universe, instantly dissolved and devoured by the billions of stars, not even a ripple left behind.
“Ling Shuangjue, put away your useless anger.” Yan Wusheng’s voice remained flat, gentle yet carrying an undeniable authority.
“Do you think I was unaware? If I had not secretly obscured the Heavenly Mechanism for you, do you think you could have so easily crossed the Eastern Sea with Abi Yuan Tu Sword without drawing the prying eyes of the Heavenly Tribulation?”
Ling Shuang’s movements halted, a flicker of doubt flashing in her crimson eyes.
Yan Wusheng then turned her gaze to Gu Chang’an: “Gu Chang’an, your ‘Severing Emotions Sword Art’ shattered your sword heart because of Shen Zhaoqing. If I had not used the power of the stars to stabilize your Dao heart, you would have already fallen in realm by now, unable to even set foot through the gates of Penglai.”
Gu Chang’an’s hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
Finally, Yan Wusheng looked at Luan Ge: “Princess Luan Ge, do you truly believe you could have led the elite of the demon race into the heart of the human domain without anyone noticing, simply because you were careful enough? Why did the Immortal Binding Array covering the entire Eastern Sea region just happen to have a perfectly timed gap when you passed through?”
A few words.
“So…” Gu Chang’an’s voice was hoarse, each word forced through gritted teeth, “We… are all your pawns?”
“No.” Yan Wusheng shook her head, correcting her, “You are knives. You are swords.”
Her gaze finally returned to Shen Zhaoqing.
“And she is my only pawn. And also…”
“…the player of this game.”
A sleeping dragon had finally been forced to open its eyes. Yan Wusheng let out a soft sigh, her tone filled with the supreme joy of a successful plan.
“This game truly begins now.”
Escaping the imprisonment of Penglai was not the end. It wasn’t even the beginning.
It was merely a qualifier match, a competition orchestrated by Yan Wusheng to select a player.
And Shen Zhaoqing was the chosen one.
“Heh…” A very soft, cold laugh escaped Shen Zhaoqing’s lips.
She looked at Yan Wusheng: “A game? A player?”
“Did you ask my opinion?”
“Your opinion is irrelevant.” Yan Wusheng smiled. “In the face of the destined collapse of the Heavenly Dao, any individual will is meaningless. I have merely chosen the optimal path for you.”
“Optimal?” Shen Zhaoqing slowly raised her eyelids, her icy gaze turning into a tangible sword that pierced deep into Yan Wusheng’s soul. “Being refined as a medicinal herb is optimal? Being chased and torn by a bunch of madmen is optimal? Being manipulated by you like a marionette is optimal?”
Her voice grew colder with each question, and with each question, the cyan-gold aura around her intensified.
The very stones of the Sacrificial Altar began to creak under the oppressive pressure, spiderweb cracks spreading across their surfaces.
“Yan Wusheng.” Shen Zhaoqing addressed her by name, her tone devoid of any emotion. “I don’t care about your grand f*cking plans, whether you want to save the world or destroy it.”
“You just need to remember one thing.”
She slowly raised her right hand, index and middle fingers together, and gently drew a line through the void where Yan Wusheng stood.
It was merely a simple gesture.
Yet, the seemingly indestructible Shield of Causality before Yan Wusheng, that array disk composed of billions of stars, split silently down the middle, a straight crack appearing.
Like a perfect canvas being cut in two by an invisible pair of scissors.
“Crack.” A soft sound.
The entire array disk shattered, dissolving into starlight, dissipating into nothing.
“—Anyone who displeases me dies.” Shen Zhaoqing finished her sentence.
At this tense, explosive moment.
No one noticed that at the other end of the Sacrificial Altar, the Yaoguang Saint Lord, half-buried under rubble, covered in blood and barely breathing, slowly opened her eyes from the pool of blood.
Her eyes no longer held the compassion and gentleness of the past. Only the most venomous hatred and the most absolute madness remained.
She had lost. Lost everything.
The Penglai Immortal Palace she had built over a thousand years was destroyed. Her disciple, on whom she had placed high hopes, had betrayed her. The ‘Dao Source Body’ she had dreamed of had become this terrifying existence that could crush her with a snap of its fingers.
She refused to accept it!
Why?!
Why had she sought immortality in vain her whole life, while this little wench was born with everything?! Why had her painstaking schemes become someone else’s wedding gown?!
If she couldn’t have it, no one would! She would make everyone pay with their lives! Pay for her shattered dream of eternal life!
A trace of manic, ferocious smile bloomed on her blood-stained face.
With her last ounce of strength, she quietly pulled out a pitch-black jade token from her bosom. It was Penglai Immortal Palace’s final trump card.
It was a distress beacon that the founding patriarch had obtained by chance, used to contact an ancient sect that had long been hidden, unknown even to the Three Pure Ones Dao Alliance.
To activate it required the sacrifice of all remaining life and fortune of the entire Penglai Immortal Island.
But she no longer cared.
“I… curse you… curse all of you…”
“…to fall… into the endless hell…”
She muttered in the most venomous voice, then viciously crushed the jade token in her hand.
“Crack.”
The token shattered, turning into a barely noticeable wisp of black smoke. It went unnoticed by anyone, instantly vanishing into the void.
Having done this, the last flicker of light in the Yaoguang Saint Lord’s eyes died out completely. With that venomous, mad smile still on her face, she slowly breathed her last.
A generation’s pill Dao grandmaster had fallen.
But the evil seed she had sown before her death was just beginning to sprout.
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